'It took years for me to love Zephany'

By admin

24 February 2016

Zephany Nurse once told the woman she believed to be her biological mother, "You don't love me like you love my brother."

And she may have been right. In her alleged abductor's plea explanation submitted to the Western Cape High Court, the 51-year-old woman said it took years for her to accept Zephany as her own child, IOL reports. “Although I was not her biological mother, I raised her as my own child,” the woman said.

The woman cannot be named to protect the teenager's identity. Up till now, the young woman has been known by the name her biological parents gave her, Zephany.

The woman, from Lavender Hill, has been out on bail of R5000 after she was arrested in February 2015. The matter came to light when the Zephany’s biological sister, who is four years younger, told her parents that a matric girl at her school bore a striking resemblance to her and her parents. When the parents discovered the girl had the same birthday as their missing child, they reported it to police. DNA tests had confirmed the teen was indeed their daughter.

In court yesterday, Celeste Nurse broke down when she described what happened in the hospital ward almost two decades ago.

I was 18. It was my first pregnancy,” she said.

Three days later, still in a “drugged” state, she said she heard Zephany crying. When she woke up she saw a woman sitting at the door, Celeste recalled.

Her bed and the baby’s cot were both right next to the entrance. “She told me the child was crying and asked if she could pick her up,” she said. Celeste said she could not recall what happened thereafter. “I woke up when the sister came in and asked me: ‘Mommy, where is your baby?’.”